Las Vegas is home to a large Hawaiian community. It is referred to by some as “the ninth island.” The beauty of the Hawaiian culture was shared at the investiture of Judge Danielle K. Chio and Judge Jacob A. Reynolds. Judge Chio is the first woman of Hawaiian ancestry to serve on the District Court bench in Nevada.

Judge Reynolds also brought something unique to the ceremony by using a Spanish Bible. He is the 10th of 11 children who grew up in Utah, Scotland, Israel and Argentina and he speaks Spanish fluently.

The formal ceremony was steeped with significant symbolism as the new judges publicly swore their oath to uphold justice. It also included a fresh take on what tradition means. There was the customary presentation of the colors, pledge of allegiance and the national anthem. There was also a traditional Hawaiian dance. Both judges were formally robed and they also each received a lei to symbolize the honor of the occasion.

Prior to taking the bench, Judge Chio’s service included work as the Las Vegas deputy city attorney. She handled battery domestic violence and DUI cases. In 2005, she joined the Clark County District Attorney’s Office. She served in the Special Victim’s Unit and the Gang Unit, where she was promoted to team chief. She has tried over 50 felony jury trials and hundreds of bench trials. As team chief of the Gang Unit, she worked with various organizations including, Hope for Prisoner’s and the Nevada Department of Parole and Probation to find alternatives to incarceration. Her work included a joint study with UNLV, the University of Cincinnati, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, and the Nevada Department of Parole and Probation to reduce crime in Las Vegas. 

Judge Chio graduated from St. Andrew’s Priory High School, founded by Queen Emma to educate women of Hawaii. Her undergraduate degree is from Whittier College and she has a law degree from McGeorge School of Law in Sacramento, California. After college, she worked in the Los Angeles Unified School District and volunteered at the Child Abuse Services Team in Orange, California. Judge Chio attributes her passion for helping others and her motivation to attend law school to her volunteer experience.                                    

Prior to becoming a judge, Reynolds worked in-house at Switch Ltd. as special litigation counsel. He successfully took to jury trial the largest antitrust case in Nevada history valued at $400 million. He also served as the chief legal officer of Scholer & Sons, LLC, which took him to Brazil and Uruguay. He has litigated cases in both state and federal district courts and participated in appeals before the United States Supreme Court, Nevada Supreme Court, as well as the United States Ninth, Tenth and Eleventh Circuit courts, as well as the Federal Circuit.

Judge Reynolds, graduated from Brigham Young University, where he double-majored in philosophy and economics. He also attended the Institute for Humane Studies seminar, hosted at Princeton University. During law school, he interned for Judges Lloyd D. George in Las Vegas and David Sam in Salt Lake City. Upon graduation from J. Reuben Clark Law School, he clerked for Chief Judge Roger L. Hunt in the U.S. District Court in Las Vegas. Upon completion of the clerkship, he joined Hutchison & Steffen, PLLC where he became a partner and worked primarily in complex commercial litigation, Constitution, election law, and practiced before the Nevada Ethics Commission. Judge Reynolds is an active member of the community who coaches youth sports teams and volunteers at his church.

The symbolic and emotional event was live-streamed and can be viewed on the Eighth Judicial District Court Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/1667439425/videos/233914132713644/

https://www.facebook.com/clarkcountycourts/